Co-Design of Legged Robots
Optimizing morphology and actuation jointly against a target behaviour
Designing the robot and designing its controller are usually separate jobs, done in that order. That ordering quietly discards performance: a morphology fixed before the behaviour is known is rarely the morphology that behaviour wanted. This theme optimizes structure and actuation jointly against a target task, with actuator models detailed enough that the resulting design is buildable rather than merely optimal on paper.
Representative Projects
Energy-Aware Monoped Jumping with Detailed Actuator Modeling
TODO: ~45 words. A co-design framework that optimizes jumping performance while modelling the actuator in detail — gearbox losses, thermal limits, electrical constraints. Say what a naive point-mass actuator model gets wrong, and what changes once you model it properly.
High-Performance Jumping of a Five-Bar Monoped
TODO: ~45 words. Co-design of a five-bar linkage monoped with actuator optimization in the loop. Explain what the five-bar topology offers, and how jointly tuning linkage geometry and actuator parameters beats tuning either one alone.